Since Mark has decided to join us Authors I decided to make him a new signature more fitting for his new status (frankly i just couldn't figure out where to stick author.) here is a link to his story Birthday Boy

and then to the...

As I slip further down the slippery slope there come pauses where normal function is enabled for brief periods of time. Today I had to go to a class on time management. It was either take it now or wait until July when it will be considerably hotter. I’ve decided I do not like the hot, humid aspect of living in Dallas. Don’t get me wrong, I...

It's official... In two weeks I'm moving to PA permanently and I'm scared. I can't focus on anything nor can I get anything done...

I've been trying to distract myself with reading but it's not working... I've been talking to people but I feel like I'm being annoying so I stopped... I've only been talking to...

Peter Vidmar has resigned his post as chief of mission for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team amid today’s controversy over his history as an anti-gay Prop 8 supporter. In a press statement, Vidmar said, “I wish that my personal religious beliefs would not have become a distraction from the amazing things that are happening in [...]

The sheer volume of @sshattery that has come out of the mouths of members of the GOP is astonishing. Today's bumper crop yielded two nominees for 'The Stupid It Burns' poll.

First, Little Ricky Santorum, who claims Obama 'Didn't Get Osama Bin Laden!'. He went on the Laura Ingraham show and showed his @ss over Osama bin Laden and who deserves credit for it, particularly to give the kudos to Bush for his torture interrogation tactics. Via Think Progress:

SANTORUM: 9/11 families and everybody else in America should be furious at this president that he's walking abound taking credit for, you know, getting Osama bin Laden. He didn't get Osama bin Laden! ... The president of the United States simply said - courageous act, give him credit for saying yes - but that's all he did, is say yes. He didn't do the hard work. The people he's going after did the hard work. And that is an outrage.

Santorum is referrering to his claim that Attorney General Eric Holder is "going after" CIA agents who used enhanced interrogation tactics under President Bush. But perhaps Santorum is too fixated on his Google problem to remember that Obama said two years ago that he wouldn't prosecute CIA agents who engaged in torture.

Number 2 nominee is Rep. Allen West (R-FL). The batsh*ttery here is hard to beat. At a town hall in Fort Lauderdale he opened his pie hole and a lot of truthiness of epic proportions came out.

Warning the crowd about the economic and national security dangers that China poses to the United States, West declared - twice - that "China is in control of the Panama Canal":

WEST: I had the opportunity to go down to the United States southern command which is headquartered in Miami, Florida. There is a huge threat coming up out of South America through Central America, through Mexico, and into the United States. Iran is in South America. Hezbollah is in South America. I already talked about how China is in control of the Panama Canal. And even about 50 miles away from here in the Bahamas, building a port there. You know, there is some serious threats to our country.

The notion that China controls the Panama Canal is patently false.

So who wins the poll? Cast your vote below.

I can't believe I've been on this site for four years and I haven't ever mentioned Boys Town Gang. They were a group put together by DJ Bill Motley, who is credited as a leader in developing the San Francisco "sound" along with Patrick Cowley, in the early 80's. They were a club group, so dancing, keeping the fun going, and looking pretty were just as important as musical talent.

Here's a gay song, "Cruisin' in the Streets," but I can't find any sort of video to go with it. Lead singer Cynthia Manley wants to teach us "a new way to meet." Yeah, it's about the most descriptive songs about cruising for gay sex that I know of.

Continue reading "Queer Music Friday - Boys Town Gang"...

Award-winning productions 'STOMP,' 'The Color Purple' among highlights. The Color Purple will play June 21-26 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Another classic from YouTube's rant king.

Jennifer Aniston made a little trip to Sephora so she can flog her new fragrance wearing Vivienne Westwood. We should all judge her. All apologies to Miss Hillary Swank, but as soon as we saw this picture we shouted “CLOSE THE VOTING! WE GOT A LIVE ONE HERE!” We like to pretend we’re old-timey newspaper [...]

Jennifer Lopez visited BET’s “106 & Park” at BET Studios in New York City in a Hakaan dress which redefines the term “bandage dress.” Hakaan Fall 2011 Collection     Everyone else is looking away, but there’s one queen taking it all in and thinking, “This bitch is TRAGIC.” Can you spot him, readers?   [...]

Oh, what the hell. Let’s make it three Jennys in a row. Jennifer Lawrence covers Canadian magazine Flare’s June 2011 issue in Gucci. Photographed by Max Abadian Bracelet by Louis Vuitton   On throwing away diet plans: “I don’t really diet or anything. I’m miserable when I’m dieting and I like the way I look. [...]

Ed Westwick attended the grand opening of St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London and opted for maximum head-turn appeal.   Now, we have some quibbles but let’s make one thing perfectly clear: BRA. VO, son. LOVE this look. It takes some balls to dress like this. After all, hardly anyone does and sadly, the richly [...]

Darlings, the slightly-less-bright stars came our for NYLON Magazine’s May Young Hollywood Issue Celebration at Bardot in Hollywood. We don’t know who 90% of these kids are but we’re sure they’ve all got a bright future ahead of them. We’re plum tuckered out from a full day’s work of opinionating, and since there are a [...]

Hemsworth & Hammer. NATHANIEL ROGERS ...would live in the movie theater but for the poor internet reception. He blogs daily at the Film Experience. Follow him on Twitter @nathanielr. NOW PLAYING It's not every day you drive right into a...

Even though the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence‘s mission is “to promulgate universal joy and to expiate stigmatic guilt,” not everyone has taken to their provocative tactics to bring attention to worthy causes (like their AIDS activism). After this year’s annual Hunky Jesus contest, which is hosted by the Sisters every Easter at Dolores Park in San [...]

We’ll never forget the first time we heard the name Lady Gaga: “Oh, God, not another talking-baby sitcom,” we thought. Okay, so sometimes our first impressions are way off the mark. So we’d like to defer to you, Queery readers: is Yelle destined to be a new gay icon? Our buddy Zach over at The New [...]

The Lady Gaga concert on HBO Saturday night is getting so much attention, it’s now become cool to feign disinterest in watching it. But don’t lie–you may go out Saturday night as if you have so many other important things to do, but you’re setting your DVR so you can watch the concert later. [...]

It seems almost an annual event when the American Library Association releases their yearly Top Ten List of the Most Frequently Challenged Books and (guess who) Justin Richardson’s and Peter Parnell’s And Tango Makes Three makes the top of the goddamned list third time in a row. The homos get all pissed over censoring a 3rd [...]

This May, the Oprah Winfrey Network will air Becoming Chaz a documentary about Chaz Bono’s transformation from a biological female body to a male one. It seems like a quality flick, but considering the recent comments of openly lesbian “dissident feminist” thinker Camille Paglia, we have a feeling she won’t approve of it. As a [...]

You may remember earlier this week when straight Republican Madeline Koch spoke before the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee, urging them to vote against a Constitutional double-ban on marriage. Yes! A good Republican! For reals! So, exactly who is this delightful lady? Let’s internet-stalk her and find out. Well, her Twitter account reveals “Work in Government Affairs, Political [...]

It’s official. The East Village has come full circle back to the dark days. Apparently, the yuppies of the Bowery have a problem with the legendary Tuesday night Beige party at B Bar. The tenants of the new luxury sky rise must have started a “meet up” at Starbucks and put in enough calls to [...]

Seems like it was just yesterday that Obama caused Anita Bryant clutch at her pearls in horror by issuing a Mother’s Day proclamation that recognized gay moms. Well, actually, it was a year ago. And now it’s time once again to turn to the mom in your life and say, “hey, thanks for letting me crash [...]

The California fourth district court of appeal has upheld the firing of a San Diego teacher who was allegedly dismissed for posting sexually explicit ads on Craigslist.

According to conservative actor-director Stephen Baldwin, gay people seeking equal marriage rights are “a very small minority” seeking to impose their will on the majority.

Michael Stipe recalls being frightened by AIDS as a young man and compares the early days of testing to a witch hunt.

Press Release from The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission indicates that the infamous Ugandan "Anti-homosexuality bill" is not only not dead, but possibly in danger of passing soon:

Public hearings on the Bill took place today in the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. The remaining stages of the legislative process – namely second and third readings of the bill and presidential adoption – could be completed within the remaining week of the current parliamentary session.

The Bill reaffirms existing penalties for consensual same-sex relationships, and criminalizes the "promotion of homosexuality" and failure to report homosexual activity. The Parliamentary Committee itself has said that the provisions of the Bill are redundant and unnecessary. Most controversially, the Bill would punish "aggravated homosexuality" – including activity by "serial offenders" or those who are HIV positive – with the death penalty. To IGLHRC's knowledge, the provisions related to the death penalty remain part of the Bill, despite statements by the Bill's author that these would be removed.

Disturbing news. Representative Barney Frank introduced a measure that might provide financial disincentives to gay hostile states. The likelihood of it reaching fruition in Boehner's House is not good. The United States Secretary of State has a contact information page here.

Brazil’s estimated 60,000 same-sex couples will soon get all the same legal rights as married heterosexuals, its Supreme Court has decided.

(I’m skipping my usual Weekly Political Roundup in order to bring you a slew of mom-related stories for Mother’s (s’) Day.) Steve Rothaus at the Miami Herald profiles Andrea Askowitz, author of My Miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy, and her spouse Victoria Azpurua. Deborah Goldstein tells the tale of buying her Jewish son a pink, sparkly [...]

You can tell a lot about someone by the company they keep. Or so the saying goes. The GOP held its first presidential primary debate in Greenville, South Carolina, with the help of some very interesting — and very telling — company from the farthest of the far-right fringe. According to ThinkProgress, the official program for [...]

BrainPOP | September 11th (tags: 9/11 education history video)

Mike Gin would become Congress' first openly gay married man if elected on May 17

Gay couple Josh Vandiver and Henry Velandia say they're shocked that a federal immigration judge has delayed Velandia's deportation

Barbra Streisand says she'll miss working with sometime collaborator Arthur Laurents, who passed away yesterday at 93.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says that anti-gay hate crimes are on the rise, and cites New York City, Brazil, Honduras, and South Africa. Related posts:

1. Christine Quinn Blames Tea Party’s Paladino For Anti-Gay Hate Crimes
2. Report: Gays “By Far, The Most Victimized By Violent Hate Crimes”
3. Paladino Declares War On Gays Amid Anti-Gay Hate Crimes, Coming Out Day

America's most-trusted birther news source, World Net Daily, along with a birther polling outfit, Wenzel Strategies, have a poll about teaching about homosexuality in schools, which they say shows that 65% of people oppose.

Assuming that they actually did hire callers to ask 1000 random people about their views on the topic (considering the source, I wouldn't be surprised to find out they just made numbers up), there are still a few issues with this poll. Now, "issues" doesn't mean that the "real number" of people who oppose schools mentioning gay people is a whole lot lower than 65%. In fact, the wording and context of this poll make it hard to even know what it's attempting to measure and how it's supposed to be used, other than to advance a homophobic agenda in the press. I'm perfectly open to the possibility that real polling on this topic wouldn't be all that great.

Back in March, the same polling outfit claimed they proved that only 9% of Americans believed that Barack Obama had proved he was a natural-born citizen. That poll got the firm labeled "ethically challenged" by the founder of ConWebWatch.com. This poll doesn't link to a full transcript, and if the firm took the same liberties with interpreting people's responses in ways respondents never intended - as Salon accused them of with another birther poll back in 2009 - that'd make this poll even junkier.

But based on the information they released, the poll doesn't support WND's claim, which was "Vast Majority Want 'Gay' Lessons Banned."

Continue reading "Rightwing Poll: Americans Don't Want Gay Lessons"...

In a 10-0 ruling, Brazil's highest court has approved same-sex relationship recognition by ruling in favor of civil unions. One justice abstained from voting.

Brazil's high court ruled that same-sex civil unions must be recognized, a decision welcomed as a watershed by gay activists who also hope it will cool rising violence against homosexuals in Latin America's most populous nation.

The ruling, however, stopped short of legalizing gay marriage in Brazil, which has more Roman Catholics than any other country. The Catholic Church fought the measure.

Same-sex marriage is already legal in Argentina and Mexico City.

In an opinion piece written in May of 2010 for The Washington Post, Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer and founder of Facebook, wrote:

Six years ago, we built Facebook around a few simple ideas. People want to share and stay connected with their friends and the people around them. If we give people control over what they share, they will want to share more. If people share more, the world will become more open and connected. And a world that's more open and connected is a better world.

The opinion piece was in response to the public's growing concern over their privacy on Facebook. At the time this piece was written, Facebook was under fire for granting third-party application developers access to user's personal data for advertising purchases, thus resulting in an uproar from vocal users.

Just a couple years prior, Facebook had come under similar strain for the launch of Beacon, their online advertising system. Through Beacon, Facebook would track purchases that its users would make and then broadcast what users purchased to their online communities on Facebook.

Continue reading "Just How Popular Are Social Profiles?"...

On Sunday, April 3rd, in honor of her work at Fort Lauderdale's Broward House, the often crowned Nikki Adams was named a "Community Star of the Year" at the Pride Center's annual "Stars of the Rainbow" awards ceremony. A new title, well deserved.

I recently sat down with the spellbinding Nikki as she told me her story. After adjusting the chronology and discarding any repetitions, it was clear that she would be best presented in her own uninterrupted and unflaggingly cheery voice.

"I was born in little Jennerstown, Pennsylvania in 1958. My childhood was really very typical. A brother, two parents, a nice nuclear family. My father, a car dealership sales manager. My mother, a housewife. Truly, I had no childhood trauma, although after 6th grade, my classmates recognized I was gay long before I did. I loved the school part of school, but hated the social aspect of it. In high school, the sport of the season was what you had to play. We had to walk over a loose stone road to get to the football field. On the way to and from that field, I would get stoned literally. In my sophomore year, in wrestling class, someone broke my clavical and did me the biggest favor of my life because I was able to sit out gym class from that day on."

Continue reading "The Cheerful Miss Nikki Adams"...

Hundreds of Islamists rallied outside the U.S. embassy in London today in a mock funeral for Osama Bin Laden. Riot police had to step in and separate the group from counter-protesters from the neo-Nazi English Defence League. Many more photos at the link.

A New Jersey immigration judge today temporarily halted the deportation of Henry Velandia, who is legally married to a U.S. citizen. This follows yesterday's move by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who vacated the decision to deport another gay man in the same situation.

Henry Velandia, who faces deportation to Venezuela, is petitioning to be allowed to remain in the U.S. as the spouse of U.S. citizen Josh Vandiver. Judge Alberto Riefkohl granted an adjournment of the case Friday in a Newark immigration court. At issue is who can be considered a spouse under federal law. Velandia is a 27-year-old professional salsa dancer and Vandiver is a 29-year-old graduate student at Princeton University. They were married last year in Connecticut, where same-sex marriage is legal.

GetEQUAL had staged a protest against the deportation outside the Newark courtroom.

Today the Texas legislature finalized a bill that requires doctors to take a sonogram and offer to show the image to the patient before performing an abortion. Gov. Rick Perry is expected to sign the bill immediately.

The bill requires a doctor to conduct a sonogram at least 24 hours before an abortion and to give the woman the opportunity to see the results and hear the heartbeat of the fetus. Though the woman can choose not to view the images and hear the heartbeat, the doctor must describe what the sonogram shows, including the existence of legs, arms and internal organs. “This will be one of the strongest pieces of sonogram legislation in the nation,” the bill’s author, Representative Sid Miller, a Republican from Stephenville, told reporters. Mr. Miller predicted the measure would “save numerous unborn lives.” Because the measures passed both houses of the Legislature with a two-thirds majority, it will go into effect as soon as the governor signs it.

(Source)

Fantastic news in a high profile case, even if the very fact that we have to have this conversation is offensive beyond belief:

Henry Velandia and Josh Vandiver, a binational same-sex married couple from New Jersey whose case has been in the spotlight in recent days, can stay together. A judge has halted deportation...
JUDGE HALTS DEPORTATION OF HENRY VELANDIA [Towle]

**MORE: Henry Velandia's Deportation Proceeding Adjourned, AG Holder's Decision Cited As Reason [Poliglot]

For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. On days when the American government shows you basic respect, and even when crude inequalities are allowed to remain in place.

Ah, to be young and in love in America!

This week's featured video: The City, from Patrick Wolf's album Lupercalia - Watch: Video: The City Related Article: - Patrick Wolf: 'It was time to grow up' - Newly engaged pop iconoclast Patrick Wolf tells Elizabeth Day how falling in love at first sight inspired his joyous new album [Guardian] Related Post: Video: Hard Times

I'm not going to say who it is or go into specifics. My friend is a really nice guy, but he has a lot of problems. Like many people, he's had a rough life. He is definitely not unscathed by it, and he suffers through episodes of mental illness. For over a month, he's been symptomatic, and I have not been in contact with him in several...

A defendant convicted of fatally stabbing his roommate several times in the face with a pick ax has been sentenced to life in prison. David French will spend at least 25 years behind bars before he has the chance of parole. French, a transgendered individual who identifies as female, was accused of killing [...]

Homosexuality is illegal and taboo in Syria. That, however, didn’t stop 34-year old Amina Abdullah from launching her own blog, “A Gay Girl in Damascus.” She speaks to What’s Trending over email about deciding to risk her life and continue to share her brave stories with the world. Abdullah describes her blog as [...]

Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court on Thursday legally recognized homosexual partnerships in a landmark case for gay rights in a country with the world’s largest population of Roman Catholics. Justices at the STF, as the country’s top court is known, voted 10 to zero in favor of gay partnerships, setting a legal precedent in Latin [...]

A 13-year-old lesbian girl was raped in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, the department of justice and constitutional development said on Friday. “Government condemns this senseless and cowardly act of criminality,” department spokesperson Tlali Tlali said in a statement. He said the girl, who was open about her sexuality, was raped in what seemed to be [...]

Today's Top Headlines Brazil's Supreme Court Recognizes Gay Partnerships Life Sentence Handed Down In Pick Ax Killing Lesbian Blogger in Syria Becomes Heroine 13-Year-Old South African Lesbian Raped Get even ...